HOCKEY

HOCKEY; Heatley Returns to Ice Months After a Fatal Crash

By RAY GLIER

Published: January 29, 2004

ATLANTA, Jan. 28—
A hockey team starting to fade from the N.H.L. playoff race drew a near-sellout crowd of 16,271 Wednesday night at Philips Arena. There was an opening-night buzz around the team, which had won only twice in its last 14 games. Seats farthest from the ice filled up an hour before the puck dropped.

Dany Heatley was back on the ice for the Atlanta Thrashers, and fans arrived early and opened their arms wide for an embrace. The crowd did not wait for the arena announcer to finish saying Heatley's name in pregame introductions. It roared applause for Heatley, a 23-year-old right wing who was the most valuable player of last year's N.H.L. All-Star Game, as he stood on the ice.

The first time Heatley touched the puck, there was even more applause. Cheers followed as he left the ice at the end of his shift.

''It's opening night for me,'' Heatley said this week.

It was also a night to get his life back in order. Heatley took the ice four months after the Ferrari he was driving crashed along a curve in an Atlanta road. He was thrown from the car in the crash on Sept. 29 and sustained injuries to his right knee that sidelined him for the first 51 games of the season. But his teammate Dan Snyder was thrown from the car and died of brain injuries six days later.

Heatley, who was charged with vehicular homicide, has described the four months of rehabilitation as torturous, with constant thoughts of Snyder. Heatley seemed so despondent at his first postcrash news conference on Dec. 26 that he said he might not play this season.

''Hockey has been a big part of my recovery,'' Heatley said at a news conference Wednesday morning.

The Thrashers thought Heatley, who is in his third season, might be out six months, but they said his recovery had been remarkable.

On Wednesday night the crowd was desperate for Heatley to score a goal. He took a shot from the right point on the power play with 4 minutes 22 seconds left in the first period, and the crowd groaned as the shot was blocked.

Moments later, Heatley slapped another shot at the net. Another cheer was cut off by a groan when it missed. He finished with four shots, all of which missed, as the Thrashers tied the St. Louis Blues, 1-1.

''I'll remember this night for a long time,'' said Heatley, who said he spoke with Snyder's parents, Graham and Luanne, on Wednesday. ''It's over now. Got to move on and start worrying about trying to make the playoffs.''

He said he ''felt pretty good over all, just a little rusty here and there.''

''The timing may have been a bit off, but as the game went on, I felt pretty good and I thought I adjusted pretty well,'' Heatley said.

Now that the first game of his return is over, Heatley said, ''maybe I can concentrate on hockey a little bit more.''

The Thrashers are desperate for a boost from Heatley. They have 2 victories in their last 15 games and have slipped to ninth place in the Eastern Conference, one spot out of the playoffs.

''It's a big lift; we've lost a lot of guys injury-wise,'' Shawn McEachern, the Thrashers' captain, said earlier in the day. ''He's a good enough player that even when he is not on top of his game he'll be effective.''

Atlanta Coach Bob Hartley called it ''a great night for this organization'' and ''another great step for Dany.'' He cautioned that Heatley ''will not be the savior'' but acknowledged, ''It was totally a different feeling.''

''You could tell that the guys were focused and troubled by what we were going through,'' Hartley said, ''but tonight you could feel passion in there.''

Heatley, a 6-foot-3, 215-pound right wing, was ninth in the N.H.L. in scoring last season with 89 points. He and Thrashers left wing Ilya Kovalchuk are considered two of the best young players in the league.

Heatley was expected to remain in the lineup even with the criminal charge pending. Snyder's parents have forgiven him, and the police said that while Heatley consumed a small amount of alcohol, it was not being cited as a cause of the crash.

Heatley could be sentenced to 15 years in prison if convicted of vehicular homicide.

Snyder's parents released a statement Wednesday saying: ''We're glad to see Dany back on the ice doing what he does best. We spoke with him today.''

They added, ''We're happy for him, are with him in spirit and will be watching tonight.''

Photo: Dany Heatley last night played his first game in four months. (Photo by Associated Press)